Malnutrition

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Author J.T. Sharrah ISFDB
Issue Analog January/February 2015
Main characters
  • Khadija, the dignitary
  • Leopold Yulix, human trader/rogue acquainted with Khadija's race
  • Mayor Hardesty, the leader of the station
Keywords alien, food, space station, assassination, trader, mystery, suicide
Series? no

Malnutrition takes place aboard a space station during a visit from an alien dignitary. Following an unsuccessful assassination attempt, the dignitary is put on life support and fed through a tube. The mayor of the space station conducts a fruitless investigation and eventually enlists the aid of a local rogue. The alien wakes and, because eating in public is a taboo in his culture, commits suicide rather than deal with the humiliation. It is revealed that the assassination was arranged by the dignitary's father, and the information is given to the rogue to blackmail the father with.